The Archivist of the United States, David S. Ferriero, testified on March 23, 2010, before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security.

During a hearing entitled, “Removing the Shroud of Secrecy: Making Government More Transparent and Accountable,” Mr. Ferriero spoke about the National Archives’ responsibilities for records management and the central role our agency plays in assuring the Open Government values of transparency, citizen participation, and collaboration.

In part, the Archivist said, “The backbone of a transparent and accountable government is good records management. To put it simply, the Government cannot be accountable if it does not preserve – and cannot find – its records…. The long-term success of the Open Government initiative — and the future of the National Archives — hinges on the ability of each Federal agency to effectively manage their records.”

You can read his testimony here and watch the testimony from a link here.

So, what do you think of the Archivist’s remarks, particularly his testimony about how well agencies are managing their records?